AQA GCSE Geography (8035) — Challenges in the human environment
Imagine trying to run a global shipping business without a single port or coastline. This is the reality for landlocked countries, 16 of which are located in Africa. Without direct access to the sea, they are isolated from seaborne trade, which accounts for 90% of all global trade.
Being landlocked creates a chain reaction that stalls development. These nations must rely on their neighbours' infrastructure and pay expensive transit taxes. For example, Uganda must ship exports across Lake Victoria to Kenya and then by rail to the port of Mombasa, significantly increasing costs and lowering profit margins.
Climate and natural hazards also act as major physical barriers. Tropical climates in Central Africa and Southeast Asia breed mosquitoes, leading to high rates of malaria. This creates a health burden where funds are diverted from development to healthcare, while workforce absenteeism reduces industrial productivity.
Extreme weather and natural disasters can destroy years of progress in seconds. The 2010 Haiti earthquake killed 220,000 people and set the country's development back by 30 years due to the massive cost of rebuilding ports and schools. Similarly, unpredictable rainfall in the Sahel region leads to food insecurity, meaning farmers cannot grow surplus crops to sell.
Over 80% of global trade is dominated by High Income Countries (HICs) and large transnational corporations. This imbalance creates uneven development because HICs dictate the rules of trade, often buying cheap raw materials and selling back expensive, processed goods.
Many Low Income Countries (LICs) suffer from primary product dependency, meaning they rely on a single raw material for export income. For instance, Zambia depends on copper for over 60% of its export value. Because the prices of primary products fluctuate wildly, Zambia's income plummeted when plastic pipes replaced copper, destroying their ability to plan for long-term development.
This dynamic frequently leads to a trade deficit, where money constantly drains out of a poorer nation. You can calculate this using the balance of trade formula:
Ethiopia, for example, has imports valued at $11 billion but exports of only $3 billion. To survive, LICs borrow money, falling into a debt trap where high interest rates consume all their revenue. When the IMF cancelled the debts of 19 countries in 2006, Uganda was finally able to use its saved funds to provide safe water to over 2 million people.
Understanding history explains why many modern nations still export raw materials instead of manufacturing their own manufactured goods. The root cause is often colonialism, which began in the 15th century when European nations took control of the Americas, Africa, and Asia to exploit their resources and labour.
During the Berlin Conference (1884–1885), European powers divided Africa into colonies without any regard for local ethnic boundaries. Colonisers extracted high-value materials, such as gold from Ghana and rubber from the Congo, shipping them to the 'mother country' to be processed and sold for massive profits.
Colonial infrastructure was built solely to extract wealth, with railways designed just to connect mines to ports rather than connecting internal cities. The Transatlantic Slave Trade also forcibly removed 12 to 15 million people from Africa, stripping colonies of their most productive workforce. When countries eventually gained independence, like the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1960, they inherited arbitrary borders and crippled economies, sparking decades of civil war that widened the development gap.
A child born in Japan can expect to live to 85, while a child born in Chad may only live to 52.5 years. This severe health disparity is a direct consequence of the unequal global distribution of wealth. Currently, the richest 10% of the world owns 75% of global wealth, with North America holding 35% compared to Africa's mere 1%.
Wealth is commonly measured by GNI per head, which determines a country's economic standing. The World Bank defines extreme poverty as surviving on less than $1.90 a day.
Because LICs generate less wealth, they cannot invest in clean water, sanitation, or medical care. This leads to a shockingly high infant mortality rate, which can be 10 times higher in LICs than in HICs. Furthermore, causes of death vary drastically: in LICs, 40% of deaths are children under 15 dying from infectious diseases and malnutrition, while in HICs, 70% of deaths are people over 70 dying from chronic conditions like heart disease.
Why do millions of people leave their homes every year to start over in a new country? Severe disparities in wealth, combined with conflict and natural disasters, act as powerful 'push' factors driving international migration.
Migrants fall into two main categories: the economic migrant who moves voluntarily for better jobs, and the refugee who is forced to flee to save their life. The 2015 Mediterranean Crisis saw over 1 million refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq cross into Europe, while the 2004 EU expansion resulted in 1.5 million economic migrants moving to the UK.
Migration has complex impacts that must be evaluated from the perspective of both the host and donor countries. For host countries like Germany, which accepted 1.1 million migrants in 2015, migrants fill labour shortages and pay taxes, though they can place temporary pressure on schools and hospitals.
For donor countries, the impacts are equally mixed. Emigration can cause a brain drain, leaving the home country without skilled doctors or engineers. However, migrants often send back remittances—such as the $80 billion sent back to India annually—which significantly boosts the domestic economy and lifts families out of poverty.
Ultimately, the consequences of uneven development are profound and globally significant. The most severe impact is the stark disparity in health and life expectancy, representing a fundamental inequality in human survival—millions of preventable deaths occur in LICs simply due to a lack of wealth. While international migration is a highly visible consequence with mixed economic and social impacts for both host and donor countries, it is primarily a symptom of extreme global wealth inequality. The development gap therefore has a severe global impact, driving ongoing geopolitical instability, forced displacement, and an entrenched cycle of poverty.
Students often confuse 'standard of living' with 'quality of life'. Remember that standard of living is strictly economic (like GNI per head), while quality of life includes social factors like happiness, education, and safety.
For 'Explain' questions on the causes of uneven development, do not just list factors like 'landlocked' or 'disease'; you must provide the causal mechanism showing how it lowers GNI or reduces investment.
When evaluating the consequences of international migration, structure your answer by comparing the positive and negative impacts on BOTH the host country and the donor country.
Use specific examples to support your points in longer answers: naming Zambia for copper dependency or the 2010 Haiti earthquake proves to the examiner that you have precise case knowledge.
Landlocked
A country that is completely surrounded by land and has no direct access to an ocean or sea.
Infrastructure
The basic physical and organisational structures (e.g., buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society.
Uneven development
The unequal distribution of people, resources, and wealth within a region or between countries.
Primary product dependency
When a country relies heavily on the export of a single or a small number of raw materials for its income.
Primary Products
Raw materials (e.g., minerals, timber, cocoa) that have not been processed into finished goods.
Trade Deficit
An economic condition that occurs when the value of a country's imports is greater than the value of its exports.
Manufactured goods
Products that have been processed from raw materials into finished items, which have a higher 'value-added' price.
Colonialism
Control by one country over another to exploit its resources, land, and labour.
The development gap
The widening difference in levels of wealth and quality of life between the world's richest and poorest countries.
GNI per head
The total value of goods and services produced by a country plus income from abroad, divided by the population.
Infant mortality rate
The number of deaths of children under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births per year.
International migration
The movement of people across national borders to establish a new residence in another country.
Economic migrant
A person who moves voluntarily to another country to seek better employment or living conditions.
Refugee
A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
Brain drain
The loss of highly skilled workers, such as doctors or engineers, who emigrate from Low Income Countries to High Income Countries.
Remittances
Money sent back by migrants working abroad to their families in their home country.
Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for Geography
Landlocked
A country that is completely surrounded by land and has no direct access to an ocean or sea.
Infrastructure
The basic physical and organisational structures (e.g., buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society.
Uneven development
The unequal distribution of people, resources, and wealth within a region or between countries.
Primary product dependency
When a country relies heavily on the export of a single or a small number of raw materials for its income.
Primary Products
Raw materials (e.g., minerals, timber, cocoa) that have not been processed into finished goods.
Trade Deficit
An economic condition that occurs when the value of a country's imports is greater than the value of its exports.
Manufactured goods
Products that have been processed from raw materials into finished items, which have a higher 'value-added' price.
Colonialism
Control by one country over another to exploit its resources, land, and labour.
The development gap
The widening difference in levels of wealth and quality of life between the world's richest and poorest countries.
GNI per head
The total value of goods and services produced by a country plus income from abroad, divided by the population.
Infant mortality rate
The number of deaths of children under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births per year.
International migration
The movement of people across national borders to establish a new residence in another country.
Economic migrant
A person who moves voluntarily to another country to seek better employment or living conditions.
Refugee
A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
Brain drain
The loss of highly skilled workers, such as doctors or engineers, who emigrate from Low Income Countries to High Income Countries.
Remittances
Money sent back by migrants working abroad to their families in their home country.
